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Science 20 September 2002:
Vol. 297. no. 5589, pp. 2044 - 2047
DOI: 10.1126/science.1073083
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Reports

Buffered Tree Population Changes in a Quaternary Refugium: Evolutionary Implications

P. C. Tzedakis,1* I. T. Lawson,2 M. R. Frogley,3 G. M. Hewitt,4 R. C. Preece5

A high-resolution pollen record from western Greece shows that the amplitude of millennial-scale oscillations in tree abundance during the last glacial period was subdued, with temperate tree populations surviving throughout the interval. This provides evidence for the existence of an area of relative ecological stability, reflecting the influence of continued moisture availability and varied topography. Long-term buffering of populations from climatic extremes, together with genetic isolation at such refugial sites, may have allowed lineage divergence to proceed through the Quaternary. Such ecologically stable areas may be critical not only for the long-term survival of species, but also for the emergence of new ones.

1 School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK.
2 Godwin Institute for Quaternary Research, Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, Downing Place, Cambridge, CB2 3EN, UK.
3 Centre for Environmental Research, School of Chemistry, Physics and Environmental Science, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, BN1 9QJ, UK.
4 School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK.
5 Godwin Institute for Quaternary Research, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK.
*   To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail P.Tzedakis{at}geog.leeds.ac.uk

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